Knight Shade : The Twilight Saga
by Strider K
Summary: Someone returns from the dead, the Chosen plot their return, while Ellie and Luke come across a Pandorax secret that changes everything. Meanwhile, a female warrior embarks on a quest for vengeance when her destiny becomes entwined with the world's.
1. Prologue

Knight Shade - The Twilight Saga  
  
By Strider  
  
Prologue  
  
"That which does not kill us, makes us stronger."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
(The world of adults burned away. The Virus was the wind to the flames. From their ashes came a world like a phoenix from Hell, where the only means of survival were to join tribes and to look after Number 1. There are those who believe in this Dream, those who use chaos to gain power, and those who simply cared no more.  
  
SHE was one of those people who simply had no more cares in the world. Life and death, the same.)  
  
The war club was met with the powerful steel of a double-edged sword wielded by the female warrior. The Demon Dog thrust his arms forward, pushing against the warrioress with all his manpower. The young woman didn't even look like she was budging nor phased by the brute strength of her adversary.  
  
(Like the world of tribes, she from the ashes of the old world. Her past destroyed by the flames of oblivion. She never really had much of anything left, except for the sword that rested tightly in her womanly but strong hands. It was all that she could trust in this world.)  
  
The swordswoman moved with the grace of a deer and stroke with the strength of a lion with her sword countless times. The Demon Dog was starting to have trouble defending himself. The war club would not hold much longer as he start to feel the center of the wood grow weak. A few more hacks and she would disarm him. He tried side-stepping, looking for just an opening and to strike at the right moment. None came. She was perfectly well guarded. It was like she could see what he would do before the Demon Dog could even perform it.  
  
( They say she was trained by one of the great warriors of Tribeworld. Strider, a master swordsman who lived in the mountains of Mountain Fuji, until his untimely and mysterious death.)  
  
Her skills were part Eastern and Western combined. Fencing with Samurai, Kendo with Tai-Chi. She was a warrior goddess at that moment. The Demon Dog started to become petrified that he was fighting a losing battle against a demon. But she was very much human. Only she knew that though. The Demon Dog was quick enough to duck from the tip of her sword from having his throat slashed open. He swiped his weakening war club at her legs, but the swordswoman leaped in the air and twisted over his head, landing right behind him. Her sword edged at the side of his neck made him freeze in terror. This was the end it seemed.  
  
(She believed she had no fate. No worth in this world except to just go on as a warrior without anyone to care about her. Oh, how so she wrong. For everything is connected to our world. Fate binds us all together.)  
  
"P-please, M-Miss! Don't k-kill me!" the Demon Dog begged, falling to his knees.  
  
The victorious swordswoman shook her head disgustedly. "You challenge me to a duel to the death, and now that you have lost you refuse a warrior's death from your own challenge?"  
  
"Please! I-I don't want to die!" the Demon Dog cried.  
  
"Worthless pig." she spat and pushed his away with her foot. "Go, and tell all who defeated you. Tell them, the Knight Shade sends her regards."   
  
(Knight Shade, the most dangerous female warrior among the Tribeworld.) 


	2. Resurrection and Death

Chapter 1  
  
Resurrection and Death  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Michael placed the band-aid on the little boy's tiny but chubby arm. "There you go, Chip. Just remember to next time think before you climb up a tree." he smiled to the toddler, speaking in his American accent.  
  
Chip nodded his head and hurried out of the medical hut of the Eco camp, just as Queen Eagle of the Gaians came walking in, smiling. A smile that no man could hardly resist. And Michael was becoming one of those men.  
  
"Good morning." he greeted her with a friendly smile.  
  
"Morning. I see Chip had another run in with a tree." Amber smiled back.  
  
"Kids." Michael shrugged. "Always finding new and interesting things to do, even if it IS dangerous." he smirked and started cleaning up the tent.  
  
Amber looked a bit more longer at the healer. Michael was the same age as Bray, the same height as well. Only Michael had short blond hair, blue eyes, and wasn't built truly like Bray but somewhere like Pride. He wasn't an Eco though. Michael had only been staying along with the Gaians when he helped Trudy and Pride escape a tracker unit of the Chosen to get to the camp.   
  
Michael was a healer, not a warrior. But he knew pretty well how to defend himself. Violence though wasn't his thing. He would rather save lives than take them away, and would gladly take any risk just to do that.  
  
Michael had also helped in the recovery of Trudy. Yes, the Chosen definitely brainwashed her. Michael even became more concerned when Pride mentioned that Bray, Amber's lover and leader of the resistance against the Chosen, told him about a room they lock you up in. It was called Power and Chaos 101, a torture chamber.   
  
It took time, but Trudy's therapy paid off and she was back to normal….with a huge guilt conscience though. Neither Michael nor Amber had ever seen someone cry so much, but the healer had been a shoulder to lean and cry own for the former Supreme Mother. Amber tried as well, but Trudy kept her distance from her best friend. The shock of Amber being alive and the huge guilt she had over so much suffering the Chosen had caused made her distant from everyone.   
  
Trudy though was now managing to keep a strong feature about her and start to communicate more with Amber again. But when she asked about Dal, Amber dared not to tell her the truth and just told Trudy that it was an accident that he fell.  
  
Trudy was still grief-stricken by the news. Dal had also been a big part of hers and her daughter's life. He was even in love with her once.  
  
'Who could blame him,' Michael thought to himself as he captured the sight of Trudy outside, playing with Brady and a few of the Eco children.  
  
"She's seems to have gotten better." Michael nodded his head over to Trudy in the opening.   
  
"Michael?" Amber/Eagle looked up to the healer. "I know this was the day you were suppose to go on, but I have another favor to ask."  
  
"Ask away." he smiled.  
  
"Well, out of all our healers among the camp, you've so far proven to be the best. You actually know what you're doing that it's almost scary."   
  
"I hope that's a compliment." Michael rubbed the back of his neck.  
  
"It is. But, what I wanted to ask was….if you would consider joining the Mallrats. The war is over and I know you said you would leave, but still the City could use a man of your skill and knowledge with medicine."  
  
Back to the city. Michael always thought about the city. A place that had once been his home.   
  
Michael's father was a doctor, and his mother a scientist. The best of both worlds. It was through their knowledge that he became such a miracle worker. The City though over time had become Hell on Earth though. He was glad to have left it when he did with all power and chaos around every corner.  
  
Still though, if there was someone who needed his medical expertise, he would be there. Perhaps it was time now to get over that fear and return home. The Chosen were defeated anyways, the Guardian was locked up.   
  
"Ah, guess it couldn't hurt. Count me in." he accepted.  
  
Amber's answer was only an appreciative smile, but just as she was about to say something else, Hawk and a few others came rushing inside the hut with a unconscious figure of a girl in his arms.   
  
"We got a problem!" Hawk exclaimed.   
  
"Set her down on the bed." Michael said as he and Amber made way for them to bring the unconscious girl in. "Where did you find her?"  
  
"In the woods. I'm not sure how long she's been out." Hawk looked up to the blonde healer as he placed his hand on the girl's chest, checking for a heart beat, then placing his ear against her mouth to check her breathing. "Is she going to be all right?"  
  
Michael nodded as he leaned back up. "Her heart is beating well and her breathing's a bit slow but normal. She'll be fine." 'But she looks like she's been through hell,' Michael thought as he brushed a few strands of the girl's long dark hair from her face.  
  
That's when he noticed that looped around her neck was a small crystal shard. It looked very authentic. He hadn't seen many treasures like this but he could tell that this was something special.  
  
As he glanced more at the jewel, he heard a soft moan from the girl as she started to stir awake.   
  
"Ma'am, are you ok?" he asked her as she slowly awakened.  
  
She didn't answer at first as she started to lay up, but Michael gently held her back down. "Try not to move for right now. Your body looks pretty out of it."   
  
"Where….where am I?" the girl asked.   
  
"Someplace safe." he answered and placed a wet cloth against her forehead. "What's your name?"  
  
"….Crystal." she replied. She knew her name. That was a good sign. Usually people in these conditions would usually wake up with amnesia with no memory of what happened before. Some were temporary while others drove themselves mad. It wasn't a pretty sight.   
  
As Michael was about to walk away from the bed, Crystal grabbed his arm. Michael looked to her in alarm. "Jade? Where's Jade?!" she cried.  
  
"Jade?" Michael asked.  
  
"Hey, what's going…" Trudy came walking into the hut when overhearing Hawk finding a girl in the forest. The moment Trudy and Crystal's eyes fell on each other, they knew each other instantly.   
  
"Y-you're Trudy! Of the Mallrats!" Crystal sat up on the bed, already recovering. "My sister was with your tribe!"  
  
"Sister?" Trudy looked confused, then realization crossed her face. "Jade. You're Jade's sister, Crystal!"  
  
Amber looked to her best friend, her expression saying that she wanted answers.   
  
"Before the Chosen took me and Brady. There was a girl named Jade who came to the Mall. She was part of our tribe for awhile. Then, she got married and left to start a new life." Trudy explained. "This is her twin sister, Crystal."  
  
"You actually remember me?" Crystal smiled. Suddenly, the inside of the hut started to turn along with everybody else. Crystal laid back down when a wave of dizziness took over. Michael checked her wrist for her pulse. Surprisingly enough, it was pretty normal.   
  
"You're probably just having an aftershock of a hangover. They usually happens if you were knocked out."  
  
"Knocked…out?" Crystal looked worryingly up at Michael.  
  
"Do you remember anything at all of what happened to you?" the healer asked.   
  
At that moment, memories flashed before her mind's eyes when she remembered her last conversation with Jade, about how she would be happy with her husband, then with Hood the Shadow Warrior who she had fallen in love with. Then….the sacrifice….  
  
Crystal shook her head. "No." She looked up to Michael, then at Trudy who still looked like she was seeing a ghost. "Trudy, what's wrong with you? You act like I've come back from the dead or something."  
  
"You mean…you really don't know what happened?" Trudy asked.   
  
"No. What is it? Trudy, tell me!" Crystal pleaded.  
  
Trudy cleared her throat, taking on a more serious but comforting look as she sat on Crystal's bed. "I know this is going to sound…well, impossible,"  
  
"Just spit it out!" Crystal scowled annoyingly.  
  
"Crystal….you were dead." Trudy revealed.   
  
The opera singer's eyes went wide in horror. What she had dreaded most was true then!   
  
"I….I really did die?" Crystal gasped. That's when the tears started flowing. "No!" she cried. "No! No no no no NO!! IT CAN'T BE TRUE!! IT CAN'T!!"  
  
Trudy took the singer in her arms, soothing her back as she let Crystal weep against her chest. "It's all right now. It's all right." she whispered.  
  
Michael sighed and looked over Amber. "You guys go on ahead. I'll stay here with the girl and meet up with you guys."  
  
"I think that's a good idea." Amber smiled, then looking sympathetically at Crystal. Of course, she could relate to Crystal. Finding out that your dead isn't the best feeling of all.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
"Hey Sweety, you up?" Luke asked as he peaked into Alice's and Ellie's room to see his girlfriend on her computer as usual. Luke strolled up to her, greeting her with his arms wrapped around her shoulders and planting a kiss on her cheek. Ellie smiled and turned to him so the next place his lips met where her lips.  
  
"Morning." she smiled lovingly and turned back to the computer monitor.   
  
"Whacha doing?" Luke asked as he rested his chin against her shoulder. His eyebrows furrowed down when he saw the web site showing from the monitor screen. "Pandorax? You're still looking up stuff on Pandorax?"  
  
"Of course. Jack and I never got to finish it. Besides learning that Danni's father created the Virus and all and that the government tried to cover something up." Ellie explained. She pressed a few more keys before four bold letters flashed red on the screen.  
  
ACCESS DENIED! PASSWORD REQUIRED!  
  
Ellie looked confused. "That's odd."  
  
"Guess there are some things that the adults don't want us to know." Luke sighed.   
  
"I don't think so." Ellie looked up at Luke. "The password should work for every file."  
  
"Like I said, there are some things the adults don't want us to know." Luke repeated before kissing her cheek and walking towards the dresser where the financial notes laid. "Alice and Ned still out?"  
  
"Yeah." Ellie not-so-chattering. "I don't know what she sees in him though. He was a total creep when we first met him."  
  
Luke smirked. "Gotta agree with you there."  
  
"But I guess….I don't know, maybe Alice saw a certain spark of hope in him or something."  
  
"I thought you were starting to like him?" Luke teased as he scanned through his notes.   
  
"Call it a sister's intuition." Ellie mocking glared at her boyfriend.   
  
"And that I will, babe." Luke smiled. "Still having problems?"  
  
"Yeah." Ellie typed in the same password again. ACCESS DENIED! PASSWORD REQUIRED! "Waah." she moaned.  
  
"Well, don't get stuck on it too much that your pretty little eyeballs would be mush." Luke grinned and kissed her head before leaving the room.  
  
Ellie sighed and rested her cheek on her fist with her elbow plopped on the desk. Her eyes were fixed on the Access Denied box. The "please" password seemed to work with every other file in the Pandorax database. It was THIS file that seemed to not be working. And if it required a much more different password, then there was definitely something very, very, VERY special about it.   
  
"What's behind this little door?" Ellie asked herself.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
She was flying in space, around the golden speckles that were stars.   
  
……Is this….is this a dream?………  
  
She saw something up ahead coming straight at her, or maybe she was coming towards it. In a flash, she found herself staring back at the earth, then zoomed in to see before her a familiar landscape.   
  
…..The City? Why are you showing me this?…….  
  
Her entire body shot up straight when she heard something. It sounded like a sort of metallic cry. It was coming from…the City? The Mall? The….the world?  
  
……The planet is crying?!………  
  
……IT IS COMING…….  
  
…..W-what?! Who said that?!……..  
  
……THE TWILIGHT IS INEVITABLE…..  
  
…..The….Twilight?….The Twilight of what?! Tell me!!…..  
  
She focused hard on the other voice in her dream. She wasn't sure, but she could swear that the voice belonged to a male adult.  
  
……THE TWILIGHT……  
  
Her eyes went wide when the center of the city exploded, right where the Phoenix Mall was, and waves of fire zoomed through the entire city. In a matter of seconds, what was a City of Tribes became now a wasteland from a chaotic fireball.  
  
……NOOOO!!!!……  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
"No!!" Tai-San bolted up, screaming. Lex burst through the door, immediately at his wife's side as he held her shoulders. "Tai-San! Tai-San, it's me!!"  
  
Tai-San panted so out of breath, then slowly she looked at Lex.   
  
"Tai-San, it was only a nightmare! Only a nightmare!" he reassured her, letting her head against his chest as he held onto his wife.   
  
"It…it wasn't." Tai-San cried with tears glistening in her eyes.  
  
"What?" Lex looked down at his shaman wife. "Of course it was. We're all still in one piece."  
  
"For now." Tai-San sobbed. "Oh god, Lex! It was horrible!" she wrapped her arms around him, clutching on to him for dear life. "I saw death! Everywhere, I saw death!"  
  
"Hush now, love. It was only a dream."   
  
The more Lex said that to his wife, the more Tai-San was starting to believe that it was more than just a dream.  
  
"The Twilight." she whispered. 


	3. Shade

Chapter 2  
  
The Legendary Swordswoman: Knight Shade  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Pride walked out of Lex and Tai-San's room, returning to the café where everyone was waiting, except for Amber and Trudy who visiting the Eco camp for awhile.   
  
"Anything?" Bray asked.  
  
Pride sighed and shook his head. "She's still a bit shaken up, but she's hanging on."  
  
"She saw death, Tarzan boy. Of course she's still a bit shaken up!" Lex sneered.  
  
Pride frowned as he looked sympathetically at Lex. It was ok for the scoundrel of the Mallrats to be upset like this. He loved Tai-San, though they kept on having arguments and disagreements of her spending a lot more time with the mentally-disturbed Guardian than her real husband.  
  
"I asked her about the dream she had. She said she saw the city, then it was all was destroyed by fire from the sky." Pride explained as he took a seat in between May and Salene. "There was someone talking to her. A voice with an Asian accent and gruffly adult male tone. He told her, 'The Twilight is inevitable."   
  
The news now even disturbed Bray a bit. Tai-San was known to have visions whenever she slept or meditated. Her guidance usually could only be trusted since most visions became real.  
  
Still though, not all dreams could be real, could they?  
  
"All dreams can't exactly be real though, right?" Lex asked. 'It's amazing how Lex and I are able to say and think the same thing though we're two totally different people,' Bray thought.  
  
"Fire from the sky. It does sound like sci-fi movie." Pride looked to Bray. "Maybe the Guardian's having some kind of influence on her perhaps?"  
  
"The Guardian does work in mysterious ways. Able to manipulate people." Bray pointed out.   
  
"Maybe she had too many herbs." Ned shrugged, standing next to Alice with his arms folded. "We know how coo-coo she is."  
  
"You wanna repeat that?!" Lex bolted out of his chair, about to make a rush at Ned until Luke and Pride and him back.  
  
"That's enough! I said that's enough!" Bray shouted, stepping in between Lex and Ned. Lex shrugged Pride and Luke off, still glaring at Ned who flashed the scoundrel an arrogant grin as he chewed his gum.  
  
Just then, Ebony came walking up the stairs. She looked around at the Mallrats, noticing the scene of Bray in between a line from Lex to Ned.   
  
"Did I miss the party already?' she smirked.  
  
"Tai-San had one of THOSE dreams again." Bray, always the one to get down to business.  
  
"She always dreams. Everybody has dreams, hun."   
  
"Exactly how many people have chaotic dreams with the whole city blowing up?" Bray arched an eyebrow.  
  
"Good point." Ebony replied and took her seat, unfortunately next to his.   
  
"Maybe Ned's right. Maybe Tai-San's been taking too many herbs. I mean, too much could really affect your mind like drugs."  
  
"Who asked, blue boy? In fact, what the hell is he doing here?" Lex glared at Bray. "He's not a Mallrat!"  
  
"He risked his life to help us. That's a spirit of a Mallrat. You above all should know that, Lex."   
  
Lex glared at Luke, then took back his seat folding his arms over his chest in a huff.  
  
"Well, all we can do is wait then and see what happens. Maybe she'll have another vision again, or something." Bray adjourned the meeting, letting everyone to continue with they had been doing before the meeting.  
  
Just as Bray was about to head to his room, he heard a few more footsteps walk up the staircase of the mall. A familiar voice suddenly put his soul at ease with all the weight and pressure of being Tribe Leader heavy on his shoulders. "What happened?"  
  
Bray turned around to see Trudy and Amber walk up into the café and smiled. "Ah nothing. Just had a meeting is all." He hugged Trudy and Brady first, then embraced Amber with a tender kiss. "I missed you."  
  
"Missed you too." she smiled back at him lovingly. "What was the meeting about?"  
  
Bray sighed as his arms loosened around her waist with her belly starting to bulge a little. "Tai-San had a bad nightmare. She thinks it was a vision of what's to come."  
  
"I'm not even sure if I want to know what it was." Amber frowned. "Seems even after beating the Chosen, a lot of bad things are still occurring."  
  
"It'll get better soon. You'll see." Bray kissed her head and turned to Trudy. "So, what happened at the Ecos?"  
  
"Nothing much. We met a good healer though." Trudy smiled.  
  
"Oh, really? Was he cute? Be honest." Bray grinned. Amber playfully nudged him in the ribs as Trudy laughed.  
  
"Actually, yes. He was definitely cute. He's got looks and a good mind, Bray. He actually knows what he's doing. His name's Michael." Trudy admitted.  
  
"I asked him to join us here in the City. We could use some good hands like his." Amber thought about what she just said. "Oh, that didn't come out right."  
  
"Yeah, two babies here." Trudy smirked.  
  
"Two?" Bray looked confused. Trudy rolled her eyes and pointed to Amber's stomach. "Oh! Yeah, two! Got another little one on the way." Bray smiled down at Brady. "You here that, Sweety? You're gonna have a cousin soon."  
  
"Kassin." Brady shouted excitedly with her arms raised in the air to Bray. Bray picked her up and held her against his side. "So, where is this Michael?"  
  
Bray noticed that neither Amber and Trudy had answered him, and that's what worried him the most. Whenever someone doesn't answer right away, that always meant that it was never good.   
  
Bray looked to see Amber and Trudy, both looking at each other as if they were unsure of how to proceed.  
  
"I'll tell him." Trudy reassured Amber. Amber nodded and took Brady from Bray. "Hey, munchkin. How 'bout you help Aunt Amber pack."  
  
"Me help! Me help!" Brady sang as Amber carried her away.  
  
"What's wrong?" Bray asked concerned.   
  
"Well, a few hours ago before Amber and I left, Michael was suppose to come with us but then, Hawk, you remember him right?"  
  
Bray nodded.  
  
"Well, Hawk and a few others brought in a girl they found unconscious in the woods."   
  
"Somebody we know?" Bray asked worried, the thought of Patsy and Danni coming to mind.   
  
"Bray….you remember Jade?" Trudy asked.  
  
Bray nodded. "Of course I do. She was the singer. A really fantastic singer If I might add."  
  
(A/N: Read Demon Dog Hunter Tiger)  
  
"Well, you remember her twin? Crystal? She sang at Jade's and Tiger's wedding."   
  
"Trudy, what's Jade have to do with this?" Bray demanded, starting to get a little impatient with all these questions.  
  
"It's Crystal, Jade's sister. When we last saw Jade and Tiger, Tiger had explained to us that Crystal died. She gave her life to save us."  
  
Bray's eyes went wide in both shock and confusion when the next words left Trudy's lips. "It's Crystal. We found her. She's alive, Bray."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Michael looked down at Crystal's resting figure. "Feeling any better?"  
  
Crystal smirked lightly. "I just found out I'm back from the dead."  
  
Michael frowned. "Yeah, sorry about that. Stupid question."   
  
"I didn't mean to sound harsh." Crystal smiled apologetically. "I just mean….god, I don't even know what I'm saying anymore."  
  
"Don't worry about it. Just rest up." Michael smiled as he sat on his stool next to the bed. The opera singer turned over to him. "How long have you been watching me?"  
  
"Since Amber and Trudy left." Michael replied, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes.  
  
"You don't have to stay if you want." Crystal optioned.  
  
"No, that's fine. No worries there. Besides, it's my job to help people. I'm a healer."   
  
"So I've heard." Crystal smiled. "I…don't really have anything to give you. Except, well, this." Crystal held up the crystal around her neck. "What ever it is."  
  
"Don't worry about it. I don't expect any payment from saving lives." Michael shook his head. "Whenever you're ready though, we can go back to the City."  
  
Crystal fell silent. The City. She remembered being there once. Remembered going there for Jade's wedding, and singing for her and her groom who was none other than Demon Dog Hunter Tiger.  
  
"Michael?"  
  
"Yes?" the healer looked down at his patient at the moment.  
  
"Do you…..do you have anybody that you miss? With all your heart?" Crystal asked. Michael was taken back by the so sudden question. In fact, he never really thought about it before. But when the opera singer asked him, one thought came to mind. Or rather, a memory of someone.  
  
"Besides my parents, there was one special girl that I miss." Michael admitted as he leaned back.  
  
"….Was she….beautiful?" Crystal asked.  
  
Michael smiled. "Oh yeah. She definitely was. She was an angel, but always had this mysterious aura about her. It was like she was afraid to become attached to someone, but when I first talked to her it was like, well I'm not sure how to explain it. We became friends fast. It was when my mother transferred to New Zealand for a project for a few months."  
  
"I see. So, you're not from around here?"   
  
"I'm from America." Michael replied then continued on about the special girl, "I remember everything about her. In fact, a lot of things remind me of her. The midnight reminds me of her hair. With the stars in the sky, it reminds me of that one time she actually dressed up for dance at our school." he smiled, remembering how breathtaking she looked with sparkling glitter in her hair and on her skin. "The hills of Eagle Mountain remind me of the color of her eyes. And the snow in the mountains, it reminds me of her skin."  
  
Michael felt something warm stride down his cheek. He brushed his tear away with his thumb and sighed sadly.  
  
"What happened to her?" Crystal asked as she looked over to Michael.  
  
"…..She left before the Virus happened. I'm not sure where though." Michael looked down at his hands. "You know the sad thing about it?"  
  
"Hmm?" Crystal stared at him curiously.  
  
"I think…I'm not sure, but I think I was in love. I mean, I wasn't exactly good with girls. But there was something about her that just….just blew me away. I mean every time I looked at her, I'd get butterflies in my stomach. I just never got the chance to see how far it would go." the healer concluded.  
  
Crystal didn't press on any further. She really didn't need too. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up."  
  
"No, it's fine. Really. I guess I needed to talk about it anyways." Michael reassured her.  
  
Crystal then got up and stood up from the bed. Michael bolted up as well, his arms out to help her in case she started to feel dizzy. Surprisingly, she was perfectly fine.  
  
"I'm ready to go back to the City." she looked to Michael.   
  
The healer was very impressed by her state. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Couldn't be anymore positive." she smiled, then walked up to him. "And Michael? Thank you."  
  
She lightly kissed his lips, then started walking backwards out of the hut. "I'll meet you outside."  
  
Michael watched her, surprised. Then touched his lips. 'Well, that was a nice reward,' he thought with a smile before gathering his stuff and leaving the hut behind.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
WHACK!!  
  
Patsy fell down after the former Praetorian backhanded her. "What did I tell you about talking back at me?!"  
  
Patsy pressed her hand against her red cheek, feeling the hotness beginning to sting. She winced in pain when feeling the Praetorian grab a fistful of her hair and pull her back up to her feet.   
  
"ANSWER ME!! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TALKING BACK AT ME?!!"  
  
"I-I'm sorry!" Patsy whimpered, forcing herself not to cry. Crying would only make it worse.  
  
The Praetorian growled. "Damn little slag! You're good for nothing!" he shoved her back down. "I don't got a problem carrying that damn bag!"  
  
Patsy said nothing as she stood back up and hung her head in shame.  
  
"Now, pick that bag up, or else it's another beating!"   
  
Patsy walked over and tried to lift up the huge bag that was heavy with a lot of valuable items and weapons. She forced it up with all her might, and when she was finally able to lift it, she dropped it again. The sound of mechanical devices breaking rushed through her ears, and her mind became alert. Her 'master.' wasn't going to like this.  
  
"Damn it, brat! Can't you do a damn thing right?!" The Praetorian forcefully turned Patsy and slapped her again, and again, the impact making her fall back down.  
  
It had been like these a few days ago when word of the Chosen's defeat came to the mines. The prisoners all started to revolt, taking out the guards. One of them though had snatched Patsy and made her his slave. His slave for almost everything.  
  
It was here that the Praetorian noticed her well-flat stomach as her gray tank top was pushed up a bit. She had a nice body on her for a 13-year-old. The Praetorian licked his lips as he kneeled down on top of her. "Shh. Hush now." he cooed to the whimpering girl. "No reason to be afraid. In fact, I'll forgive you."  
  
"You will?" Patsy's eyes went wide.  
  
"Yes. Only, you have to do something for me." the Praetorian grinned as he started rubbing his hand against her trembling stomach. "So soft."  
  
Patsy's body began to tremble even more when realizing what her 'master' had in mind. "N-no, please…I'm only 13..."  
  
The Praetorian slapped her. "What the hell did I just say?! Keep your mouth shut and don't move, or I swear I'll bash your skull open and kill you right here!"  
  
The Praetorian grabbed the collar of Patsy's tank top and was about to rip it open, until he noticed from the corner of his eye that somebody was watching.  
  
Leaning against a nearby tree stood a woman with shoulder-length dark hair, pale skin, and her green eyes hidden by the bangs on the sides of her head and the wide-brim of the black cowboy hat shielding her head. Cloaking her body was a black leather long coat that came down to her ankles, and underneath a form-fitting black leather jumpsuit with black combat boots with straps on the outsider sides instead of laces in the front.  
  
Resting against her shoulder was a double-edged sword with a black handle and a silver cross-guard and pummel, sheathed in a black scabbard.   
  
Even though it seemed a bit impossible to tell, you could see that the dark figure was indeed a woman because of the way her body was curved.  
  
"Hey! Get lost! I'm busy here!" the Praetorian shouted.  
  
The young woman didn't budge at first, then slowly she stood back up, buckling the sword to her side underneath her leather coat.  
  
The Praetorian huffed and looked back down at the fearful Patsy who had her eyes tightly shut as tears started to skid down her face.  
  
He proceeded to lean down and lick her cheek with her tears, but then growled in pain when feeling someone grab him by his hair and throw him back away from the whimpering girl.  
  
With an angry grunt, the Praetorian quickly struggled up to his feet, grabbing his hunting knife from his boot as he turned to the one who interrupted his torturing of the young girl. It was the woman clad in black.   
  
"You seem to think so highly of yourself just for striking and trying to rape a young minor." the girl scowled.   
  
"That brat?! She belongs to me! I'll do whatever I want with her! As for you, you witch! I'll cut that pretty little face of yours for sticking your nose into business that doesn't concern you!" the Praetorian grinned, switching the hunting knife from hand to hand.   
  
"Shut up and fight." the dark female hissed, not bothering to reach for her sword.  
  
The Praetorian was not one to give anybody a chance for a fair fight and lunged himself at the dark woman with his knife pointed straight out like an arrow. What came next though could hardly be imagined by most of the males of the Tribeworld, for when soon as he was just an inch away the female adversary had caught the Praetorian by his wrist then used his momentum for leverage to toss him right over her shoulder. He impacted on his backside hard to the ground with a sickening thud that anyone around could hear. Not a bone-crushing thud, but it still sounded pretty bad.  
  
The Praetorian groaned in pain clutched the back of his throbbing head. Then, realization hit him when he realized there was only air in his other hand. The hunting knife was missing, for a moment at least until felt something sharp thrust all the way down his free hand. The Praetorian screamed in agony with his hunting knife pinning him by his hand to the ground.  
  
The dark woman silenced him with her hand smashed against his mouth. "Shut up and listen now."   
  
The Praetorian tried to control his himself, to fight off the pain before this girl did anymore damage to him.  
  
"Tonight, you lose a hand for striking a girl and touching her wrongly. The next time I ever hear that you've done anything similar to this, I take out the other hand along with your arms. Understand?"   
  
The Praetorian nodded his head with tears streaking down his face.  
  
The dark woman got back up and walked over the pinned Praetorian to the whimpering girl huddled up by a tree.   
  
She stopped a good distance from the whimpering girl, and just stared at her for a moment. Her green eyes held a mixture of coldness, and yet of sympathy for the child.  
  
Slowly, Patsy looked up to her savior. Her arms wrapped around her knees. She didn't say anything, only sniffled back the fearful tears. She was afraid that this woman would do something worse to her. Even though she looked beautiful, she looked also very scary and dangerous.   
  
Then, two words made Patsy's heart jump more than anything else could do. Two words from the lips of her savior.  
  
"Go home." the warrioress spoke before she started to turn away.  
  
Patsy's eyes went wide in horror when seeing the dark woman leave. The Praetorian still struggled with the hunting knife nailing him down through his hand, but if he was to get himself free….!  
  
Patsy raced up towards her savior. The dark woman felt someone coming after her and quickly spun around with her hand on the pummel of her sword. Her defenses lowered when she saw the young Mallrat running towards her with open arms. Open arms that wrapped tightly around her waist as Patsy buried her head into the girl's side. "Please don't leave me! Please!" she pleaded hysterically.  
  
The woman was about to pull her off and tell her to go home again or else she would let her stay here with the Praetorian, but for some unknown reason she couldn't. The girl had to be no more than 12 or 13, and she just couldn't be so harsh to the girl.  
  
The dark woman sighed and put an arm around the girl's shoulders. "I'll take you home then. Do you have a home?" she asked in a more gentler tone.  
  
Patsy nodded. "T-the mall. Phoenix Mall. In the city." she sobbed.  
  
The dark clad woman nodded. "To the city then." she said and walked off with young Patsy clinging to her side. 


End file.
